Aria
by RinsDarkMagician
Summary: What exactly did Berthie and Carnelian do after the events at Gemsilica's castle? They travelled and took part in the most exciting of adventures. The end of the guignols was only the beginning for these two.
1. The Soldier and His Nun: Reminders

**I am very excited to finally be presenting this story. Lately I've had a lot of inspiring things thrown at me like Kaori Yuki (always), Alfred Hitchcock, Ayumi Hamasaki, Florence + The Machine, and even a little something called Homestuck ^_^ I mention all of those because you'll find elements of every single one of those things in my story. I could have saved these story ideas for original characters, but Berthie and Carnelian seemed so deserving. **

**And I want to say that I'm going to go ahead and dedicate this whole story to my friend, MK. ~_^ Love ya!**

**Now without much further ado, here is tonight's entertainment! I would like to present to you...**

**The Soldier and His Nun:**

* * *

><p>It never failed that Berthie would make Carnelian feel a roller coaster of emotions. Sometimes Berthie made Carnelian feel loved; sometimes he made him angry; sometimes he made him depressed; and sometimes he even made him feel nothing at all. It was one of the most terrible and yet most amazing things about Berthie.<p>

So when Berthie walked up to Carnelian in an outfit, a specific outfit complete with tie, black trench coat, heavy boots, belts across his chest, and a military style cap, he didn't know what to feel. Emotions consumed him and he thought he was going to explode from it. That outfit...that was the outfit Berthie wore on that horrific day at Queen Gemsilica's castle. Carnelian had watched Berthie die in that outfit and it was a memory he would rather not be reminded of. Yet, just when he thought his heart was going to burst from the trauma of such a memory Berthie added even more insult to injury.

"I'm not the only one in costume today. It's your turn to play dress up," Berthie said, bringing out a box and opening it to show Carnelian the contents inside.

It took everything for Carnelian to keep himself from passing out. He suddenly felt dizzy and had to lean against a tree in the forest that was their temporary residence. Seeing Berthie in that military outfit was one thing, but this...this was going to far.

"Get that away from me," Carnelian whispered, refusing to look at the box again.

Berthie smirked as he put the box on the ground and took out the nun's dress. He held it before him, admiring it. "What's the problem, Carnelian? It's just a dress."

Carnelian glared at Berthie, his body shaking just from even glancing at the dress. "You bastard. How dare you! These outfits...why would you show them to me?"

Berthie shrugged. "I thought they would be the perfect disguises. We'll look at lot less like wanderers if we're wearing these. Put it on!" Berthie threw the dress at Carnelian, though he didn't even bother to try to catch it. He simply stared at Berthie, his face turning red and his breathing becoming even harsher and harsher.

"I watched you die in that outfit you're wearing. And this...this damn nun dress!" Carnelian screamed, picking up the dress and stalking towards Berthie, shaking it front of his face. "Do you know what I had to go through while in this dress? Do you know what horrible memories I have attached to this stupid garment?" He finally threw the outfit back to the ground and walked away from Berthie, sitting under the tree he was just leaning against. He hugged himself, doing everything he could to erase those horrible memories from his mind.

"I can't stand this. How could you do this? You're such a jerk. You're such a stupid jerk."

He was nearly at the point of begging Berthie to get rid of the outfits; he would do anything if he could never to see them again, but then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He slowly turned his head around to see that Berthie had bent down to his level. He put two fingers under Carnelian's chin, lifting his face a bit.

"Look at me," he said, watching Carnelian's eyes slowly look from the ground to his face. "First off, I'm alive so it's about time you stop missing me. You're acting like a duck that lost its mom and is following a stranger. Secondly, all of that is in the past. You're stuck in the past when you have a future staring you in the face. Put it on."

Berthie slowly draped the dress over Carnelian's shoulder, not moving his fingers from his chin and not breaking their stare. Carnelian slowly touched the garment, the intense feelings of hate and resentment vivid in his heart. He wanted to yell at Berthie and tell him that he had no right to talk about living in the past, though the last thing Carnelian ever wanted to do was remind Berthie of..._him_.

So with all of that occurring it wasn't long before Carnelian was walking down a street in a nearby town, dressed from head to toe in the robes of a nun, his soldier next to him. He hated it, but he had put on the dress anyway. He wanted to argue and complain, but a part of him actually felt comfortable. He was still trying to get used to wearing trousers and being back in a dress felt...almost right to him. There was no problem with the dress itself; it was only the memories attached to it that made Carnelian upset. Yet, as upset as that particular dress made him, Berthie's outfit made him want to burst out in tears. Every time he looked at the other's face all he could think of was the blood bursting from his neck, covering the walls, the floor, and his military outfit.

"Why did you pick these outfits to wear, Berthie?" Carnelian asked, his voice weary from trying his hardest not to cry and the exhaustion he often felt when dealing with Berthie.

"I can't help it if I like the little nun dresses." Berthie said, snaking his arm around Carnelian's waist and pulling him closer.

Carnelian couldn't help the smile tugging at his lips as Berthie started toying with him. The urge to cry and the overwhelming misery that Carnelian felt at even seeing the outfits slowly dissipated. He was most certainly still upset at Berthie's choice of clothing, but there was something about Berthie's playfulness that Carnelian couldn't deny. Sometimes it was annoying, but other times it saved him from breaking down entirely.

"Please don't tell me these dresses are a fetish for you," Carnelian said, doing his best to try to lighten the mood as well. Berthie was obviously trying to make him feel better so the least he could do was put in some effort as well.

"Actually-" Berthie cut off his own sentence so he could turn Carnalian towards him to dip him, careful not to let him fall to the ground. When he was sure they were both stable he wasted no time in planting a heavy kiss on the other's lips. It didn't take Carnelian too long to recover from the shock of being dipped and he wrapped his arms around the other's body, kissing him right back. He was surprised at himself for being so calm about this, but Carnelian expected the unexpected when it came to Berthie, though he couldn't argue that a kiss every now and then, expected or not, was more than welcome. It was finally getting through Berthie's head that the more gentle he was with Carnelian, the better results it produced, and thus Carnelian felt more comfortable kissing and engaging in other activities with Berthie.

The two finally let each other's lips go and Berthie set Carnelian steady on his feet again. Carnelian ignored the passerbys' whispers and the murmurs about a nun kissing a man and stroked Berthie's cheek.

"Brides of Christ don't make out with strange men. In fact they don't make out with men at all," Carnelian said with a chuckle.

"Christ is just going to have to share one of his brides then."

"I don't think He'll be too happy with that." Carnelian said, accepting the arm Berthie extended to him. They walked down the road again, linked together, trying to savor the sweet kiss from just moments before. As much as Carnelian wanted to keep the mood sweet there were other things he still needed to discuss with Berthie.

"So you never told me why you got these outfits in the first place. I'm going to avoid the obvious question of how you got them also."

"I have my ways."

"You said these were disguises," Carnelian said, ignoring Berthie's vague response. "Are we trying to not look like wanderers for some reason?"

"I heard it's going to rain!" Berthie said excitedly, accidentally squeezing Carnelian's arm too roughly. He looked to the sky and pointed towards some dark clouds. "I can see it coming already. I heard this storm was going to be a big one!"

Carnelian shook his head in confusion. "What does the weather have to do with our outfits? Don't change the subject, Berthie."

"It has everything to do with our clothes! We have to look natural."

"Of course! A nun and a soldier walking around together is considered perfectly natural," Carnelian said with a curt nod and a click of his tongue. "That makes sense."

"It's only so we can get out of the rain! We can't do that if we wore our normal clothes," Berthie explained.

"I don't understand your logic, Berthie." Carnelian was honestly giving his best effort to see where Berthie was coming from with all of this, but it was completely futile. What he was saying made no sense at all. The connection between the clothes they were wearing and the weather outside wasn't clicking for Carnelian. "Why don't we just rent a room at an inn?"

"We don't have money for an inn. Think a little bit, would you?" Berthie poked Carnelian's head, trying to make his point even clearer. "I would have already rented the room if we had money to do so. I had to come up with an alternative solution."

Carnelian unhooked his arm from Berthie, aggravation once again setting in cause of the other man. "And your solution was to wear these outfits?"

"Indeed it was!" Berthie said proudly. "Don't question my brilliance. Come on. We need to hurry and find shelter before night fall!"

Berthie grabbed Carnelian's hand and began running through the town, Carnelian all but being dragged behind him. He was never faster than Berthie and could barely keep up with him when he decided to run. He wanted to ask more questions, but he knew Berthie wouldn't listen to him. None of his questions had been answered and he was still confused as to why they had to be wearing these outfits. Berthie obviously somehow thought they would help them find shelter from the rain, but Carnelian couldn't see what good they would do. The only purpose they served was to upset him and bring up bad memories.

However, he trusted Berthie. A part of him didn't want to, but he shut that part down and put all of his faith in the man in the military suit. He had no choice. Carnelian had no one else in the world, only Berthie. If he couldn't trust his one and only friend then he would be truly alone, so he gave Berthie his life and his body to protect and he trusted every single thing he did. As much as Berthie upset him, made him cry, or made him want to commit murder Carnelian would be lying if he said Berthie didn't take care of him. He always made sure they were fed, safe, and he would even treat the other man to hotel rooms and good food if their finances allowed it. There was nothing about Berthie that Carnelian didn't trust...except...

Carnelian shook thoughts of _him_ from his head. If he started thinking about how Berthie couldn't forget that man then he really would break down and cry. How was it that _he_ always managed to take everything, absolutely everything, from him and not even lift a finger? It just wasn't fair.

Thankfully Berthie abruptly stopped running causing Carnelian to nearly slam into his back and forget all about the man he was just thinking of. Instead he began wondering why Berthie stopped at all. He took in his surroundings and noticed the town had disappeared and they were following a lone dirt road. Ahead of them was a small house with plenty of land covered in trees and fields. The amount of land and the large equipment outside the house gave away that this place was a farm. Is this where Berthie had been aiming to get to?

"They'll take us in! Farmers are always old and nice. They'll be willing to take in a soldier and his nun." Berthie told Carnelian excitedly, though Carnelian had his doubts.

"What makes you think anyone would take in a nun with a soldier? They might even think you kidnapped me. Is this why you found these outfits, Berthie? Did you really think someone would take us in from the rain dressed like this over the way we usually dress?"

Berthie nodded as he took Carnelian's hand and entwined their fingers while beginning to walk closer to the house. "I carry a large sword around with me. Do you think people trust someone with a weapon who isn't military? Also if you follow my lead then I guarantee we'll have a place to shelter ourselves from the storm."

Once again Carnelian put all of his trust in Berthie as he walked to the door of the little house and knocked on it. Carnelian was never that good in social situations and he especially felt nervous being back in the nun dress. He just knew these people would question it and he had no idea how to respond! Not to mention Berthie wasn't exactly a socialite either. How would he react when the owners opened the door? It didn't take but a minute for him to find out.

The door opened and revealed an older woman, mostly likely in her fifties or so, with greying hair, a few wrinkles to show her age but not too many to make her seem older than she really was.

"Can I help you two?" she asked, giving them both curious looks.

Berthie took off his cap and bowed politely. "Hello, madam," he said, sounding very much like a completely different person. Carnelian had never seen him act so cordial. "My name is Berthierine and this," he gently pulled Carnelian from behind him and kept his hand on the small of his back, presenting him to the woman, "is my lovely wife, Garnet." Carnelian froze for a moment before remembering he needed to play along, though of all the names he could have picked…as if the dress wasn't painful enough….

"A pleasure to meet you, madam," Carnelian said, playing his role perfectly by holding his dress and giving a respectful curtsy.

"I was hoping I could ask for a rather unreasonable favor." Berthie said kindly. "You see, we have no home and no money for a room at an inn. I heard a storm was coming and I would hate to have my wife get caught in such horrible weather. Would it be too much to ask if we could stay the night here?"

Rather than immediately give them an answer the woman crossed her arms and eyed them up and down, a skeptical look on her face. After a few moments of sizing them up she simply said, "Since when did nuns have husbands?"

Carnelian couldn't help glancing at Berthie with a worried look sweeping across his face, though Berthie didn't even falter. He seemed perfectly in control as he gave a small smile and quickly bowed again. "Forgive me, I know we look like an odd pair, but I assure you this is my wife. The story is quite an interesting and sad one. I would be more than happy to tell it to you, that is if you'll allow me the chance to do so."

The woman just laughed and stepped to the side, waving her hand to signal them to come in. "You got me. I'm a sucker for love stories. Come on in, though I'm sure I'm going to regret it."

"You won't regret saving two people from a devastating storm, I promise." Berthie said as he entered the home but not before giving the woman a quick kiss on her hand.

"Thank you so much," Carnelian said as he followed Berthie into the house. "Mrs…?"

"Amber. Follow me to the family room, Sir Berthierine, Lady Garnet."

The two slowly followed behind her, Carnelian impressed at Berthie's acting abilities. Carnelian had to admit that Berthie played off this whole act very smoothly. Perhaps he really had been thinking when he got the outfits and his intent was more than just to upset Carnelian. Berthie was odd one and full of surprises, but sometimes he made it all worth it.

"Honey?" Amber said when they all entered the family room. Sitting on the couch, reading a book was a gentleman, most likely the same age as Amber. He too had grey hair, most of it already gone, though his face was much wearier than his wife's. He looked up at her slowly before taking into account the two strangers behind her.

"This is Sir Berthierine and Lady...oh, well would Sister be more appropriate?" Amber asked Carnelian.

"Actually Garnet is just fine. There's no reason for you to be so formal as to call me Lady and well…I'm no longer a Sister." Carnelian said that last part with hesitation and looked at Berthie, who gave him a look of approval. It seemed Carnelian was catching onto his plan rather quickly.

"And you can also just call me Berthie. Berthierine is a mouthful."

Amber smiled at both of them before turning her attention back to her husband. "Well, Berthie and Garnet need a place to stay from the storm coming up. I hope you don't mind that they stay here for the night. They were actually about to tell me the story of how a nun came to marry a soldier."

The husband gave Carnelian and Berthie the same skeptical look his wife had given them. He set his book on the small table in front of him, never taking his eyes off the new guests. "I'm not sure we should trust a nun who turned her back on God and ran off with a soldier."

"No sir, I never turned my back on God. It's just that…there were circumstances."

"Please, allow me to explain, good sir," Berthie said, standing a bit in front of Carnelian. Amber sat down next to her husband but not before offering Carnelian and Berthie a smaller couch across from them. Everyone was quiet, ready to listen to Berthie's story. Even Carnelian was curious how the two of them came to be married.

"The story is a short one, but quite a sad one," Berthie began. "As you already can tell I served in the military. My wife and I were only married for three months before I rose in the ranks and had to be away from home. We wrote to each other every single day, but then one day…." Berthie put his hand on Carnelian's knee and looked at him, not a look of love, but more a look saying he dared him to continue the story. He wanted to see if Carnelian could keep up their charade.

"One day the letters just stopped coming," Carnelian said, staring Berthie right back in his eyes. He didn't often like taking Berthie up on his dares, but sometimes Carnelian needed to remind Berthie that he was just as clever as he was.

"I wrote and wrote, but I never got a response back." Carnelian continued, turning his attention back to the couple. "I didn't know what to think. And then…that day…two soldiers were standing at my door and I just knew what they were there for. They said…the place where Berthie was staying had been…had been…." Carnelian drifted off, pretending to tear up. Berthie put his arm around his shoulder and let Carnelian hide his face in his neck as he cried crocodile tears. Carnelian felt wrong for deceiving the sweet couple in front of him, but he couldn't deny that this was a bit fun. Berthie was definitely rubbing off on him.

"The area I was staying at had been attacked. It had been in the middle of the commotion with the guignol threat ending and the Queen dying so the incident was sadly ignored. However, a rebel army attacked us and almost no one made it out. I was severely wounded." He pointed to the scars running down his face, it being the proof of what he was saying was true. "But I wasn't dead. I was taken care of by a young couple who were both nurses. They wouldn't let me go find my wife for weeks and it killed me on the inside."

"It killed me too," Carnelian interrupted. He turned back towards the elderly couple, tears streaming down his face, though not nearly as many as Amber had falling down hers. "I couldn't imagine ever loving another man. Goodness, I couldn't even imagine continuing living. To keep myself from committing suicide I decided to join a convent. I would dedicate myself to God and pray everyday for my husband's soul."

"Though when I was well enough to travel I went straight to our home just to find it abandoned. I asked around and everyone told me my wife had given away all of our belongings, which really wasn't that much anyway, and had run away to a convent. The only thing on my mind was to find my wife and hold her in my arms again. I went to the convent and I sat on a pew, watching the nuns say their prayers…and then I saw her. I saw Garnet."

"And I saw him." Carnelian said, looking at Berthie and holding his hand in his own. "I thought I was hallucinating, but it was really him. He was there in front of me, a true blessing from God."

"So I took Garnet away. We had no money, no food, no belongings and we were both runaways, but…we had each other. We still do." Berthie kissed Carnelian on his forehead and turned again towards the farmers, indicating his story was finished.

"Oh, you poor darlings," Amber said, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue before finally offering one to Carnelian as well. "I can only imagine how hard that must have been for both of you."

"It's been continuously difficult. I gave all of our money away when I joined the convent as well which is why we don't even have enough to rent a room."

"When we do get money it goes straight to food. I don't even have the money to buy my poor wife a new dress."

Amber just shook her head, tears still flowing down her face. "You poor dears," she said. "I would be honored to have you two stay the night here. My husband, Alabaster, and I hope you enjoy your stay here."

Berthie and Carnelian both stood, one giving a bow and the other giving a curtsy to the husband and wife.

"We are most appreciative," Berthie said. "It's also a pleasure to finally know your name, Mr. Alabaster."

Amber giggled while lightly tapping her husband on the shoulder. "My manners left me. I should have introduced him from the beginning. You can call him Al. Much like your own name, Berthie, Alabaster is a mouthful."

"And the other man? The one hiding over there in the kitchen?"

Berthie pointed to a doorway on the other side of the family room, leading straight into the kitchen. Everyone turned towards the entrace, trying to see the man Berthie was talking about. Carnelian had no idea there was even another person in the house, but he soon realized Berthie was telling the truth when a man, younger than Amber and Al walked out. He was a suspicious looking character with a lean body covered with overalls, a dirty face with a twisted nose, slick black hair that was just as dirty as his face, and what Carnelian thought was an odd look in his eyes, a look he had seen too many times in his lifetime.

"Oh, this is Damour!" Amber said, walking next to him. "He helps us out around the farm. Al hired him a few months ago. We're getting older and aren't able to do a lot of the necessary work we used to do."

"I see." Berthie whispered, eyeing the other man. Damour slowly made his way over the guests, walking up to Carnelian before even acknowledging Berthie. He took Carnealian's hand in his own and planted a kiss on it, much to Carnelian's disgust.

"It's a pleasure to meet such a fine madam, a Lady of God no less."

Carnelian didn't hesitate to take his hand back, hiding it behind his back just in case the other man tried to hold it once more.

"The pleasure's mine," Carnelian said slowly.

"Oh, Garnet!" Amber cried, running over to Carnelian and putting her hand on his back. "Follow me, dear! Oh, it's been so long since I've had another woman to talk to. Let's chat for a little bit before we retire. We should retire early and try to sleep through the storm! Al, show Berthie to the guest bedroom!"

Berthie gave Carnelian a quick kiss on the head before Amber dragged him off. She ran up the stairs and Al slowly followed behind her, motioning for Berthie to follow him, though before Berthie went anywhere he wanted to speak to the other man.

Damour gave him a curt nod as a hello before beginning to walk past him, but Berthie roughly grabbed his shoulder to stop him. He extended his hand out to the farmer as friendly handshake, a sweet smile gracing his face. Damour hesitantly took it, but the moment their hands touched Berthie squeezed it as if he was squeezing juice out of a lemon.

"Gah! Are you insane?" Damour cried, falling to his knees with Berthie bending down to be on his level. Berthie leaned forward to whisper in the other's ear.

"Don't you ever touch my wife again. I don't want to have to kill anyone on this visit."

And with that Berthie followed Al to the spare guest room. The sweet smile turned to a cynical one as he gave himself a pat on the back for coming up with this little plan to get out of the storm. It was turning out to be a lot more fun than he had ever thought it would be.


	2. The Soldier and His Nun: Beloved

"Oh, Garnet, you have no idea how happy I am to finally be able to speak to another woman. I swear it's been too long, much too long."

Carnelian looked around the small room Amber had brought him to. He couldn't remember the last time he had been in an actual home. Recently the only rooms he had seen were the ones of inns and they all looked the same: stoic and sophisticated but with no personality.

He took in his surroundings, noticing every little thing. Amber was currently rummaging through a large trunk in the corner of the room. The trunk itself was made of wood and intricately designed by hand. There was a large wardrobe that matched the trunk next to it, the designs seeming to flow from one to the other. In the middle of the room were two small twin beds, neither one large enough to fit two people. This showed Carnelian just how old-fashioned the farming couple was. Next to the bed was a wicker chair and across from that chair was what Carnelian found most interesting about the room.

There was a large glass cabinet reaching from the floor to the ceiling and inside that cabinet were tiny glass animals. He moved to take a closer look at the collection of different animals. Everything from horses, to bears, to birds, and even mythical creatures such as unicorns resided in the case. It was quite a unique assortment.

"Oh, did you see my little toys?" Amber asked, noticing Carnelian looking at her collection. She turned away shyly as Carnelian faced her, a blush crossing her cheeks. "These are my favorite things in the world. I know it's so silly, but I love my little animals."

"I don't think it's silly at all." Carnelian quickly told her. He turned back to the animals, once again admiring them with a longing smile on his face. "It's the little things like this that makes home feel like home."

Amber was silent as she let Carnelian gaze at her precious collection. It wasn't often she and her husband had visitors and she never imagined she would ever feel so happy that someone other than herself appreciated her collection. After a few moments passed she chuckled and walked closer to Carnelian to get his attention.

"This is for you," she said when he turned back to her. She handed him a folded white dress, a nightgown from the looks of it.

"Are you sure it's okay I borrow this?"

"Of course!" Amber said, turning away to give Carnelian some privacy to change. He took the hint and immediately began changing, hoping to everything on Heaven and Earth that she didn't turn around early and find out the truth about him.

"It's the least I can do," Amber continued. "How long has it been since you've been out of that dress? You and your poor husband don't even have pajamas to change into! Trust me, it is no trouble at all."

She waited a bit longer before she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Carnelian in her white, flowing nightgown. It fit him perfectly, almost as if it were made for him, following the contours of his body and looking more like a dress to be worn at a fancy party.

"Oh my," she said, bringing her hands to her cheeks and smiling as widely as possible. "You are a beautiful girl, Garnet." She gently stroked Carnelian's long hair, moving a large portion of it that was covering his face behind his ear. "Your eyes are absolutely stunning. You're so beautiful."

Beautiful? Carnelian didn't remember ever being called such a thing. He could only remember being compared to the beauty of…_him_. Sure, Berthie called him "pretty" or "cute" but he hardly paid him any mind. It was typically only when he was underneath him that Berthie felt compelled to say those nice things. Carnelian found it difficult to believe he was beautiful at all considering all of his life there was someone else who was always prettier…someone who kept others from acknowledging Carnelian's own beauty and forcing him to believe he would never be good enough.

"Thank you," Carnelian said simply, hoping to avoid the topic of his long and troubled past.

"You know that nightgown was supposed to be for my daughter, but she never wore it," Amber said as she led Carnelian to one of the beds. She sat him on the edge of it and sat behind him and began braiding his hair. "She's off and married now with two kids. Every so often they come to visit, but not as much as I would like."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's quite all right, dear." Amber realized braiding Carnelian's hair wasn't going to be as easy as she thought it would be. It seemed like his hair hadn't been properly brushed in quite some time. She quickly reached over for her brush and undid the sloppy braid she had just made to run the brush through Carnelian's long hair.

"Lately it seems like I've been losing touch with my family all together."

"Oh?" Carnelian said. He wasn't sure of what else to say at all. It was apparent that Amber had something she needed to get off of her chest and Carnelian would have to be the one to listen. Of course, he didn't mind at all. Amber had given Berthie and him shelter and had even offered her clothes and would mostly certainly feed them when they woke the next morning, the least he could do was listen to her problems.

"My husband and I seem to be growing distant. I don't know what to do at all. I try to get his attention and I try to keep him happy, but it just seems like he wants nothing to do with me. Oh, when I was your age we were madly in love. Seeing you and your husband together gives me hope for my own relationship. I know we're old and our time is almost up, but I don't want us to leave this earth with no love for one another."

"I…I'm so sorry." Carnelian told her. As he listened to Amber's story he couldn't help but think about his own relationship with his "husband." Things were far from perfect, but the two of them were happy or…they were mostly happy. Berthie treated him like a lover, but Carnelian wasn't positive that they felt the same feelings for each other. There was interference from that man…that man who stole Berthie's heart long before Carnelian ever showed up.

"Berthie and I…sometimes I wonder how he truly feels about me." Carnelian confessed. He felt the brush stop running through his hair for a moment. Amber must have been shocked to hear that statement after the sob story she'd just heard from the young couple. Carnelian only continued speaking after he felt Amber pick up brushing his hair again.

"After all we've been through I shouldn't have any question as to whether or not he loves me, but before the two of us met there was someone else. There was someone else who he loved dearly."

"Ah, his first love?"

"Yes." Carnelian wanted to hang his head, but Amber had finally stopped brushing his hair and began to braid it. He hated speaking about _him_ with a passion, but for some reason he felt he could speak to this woman about his situation. Here was someone more experienced than him, someone who had loved and apparently was in the process of losing. "When he looks at me I can't help but think that it isn't really me he's seeing. Or even worse is that he does see me and knows that I'm not the one he's really in love with."

"Come now, sweetie," Amber said gently. "The only person he was thinking of while he was laid up in bed with his injury was you. He didn't give up his search for you when you weren't at home! He asked around and went to the convent and took you back. That's love, dearie."

"I wasn't supposed to fall in love with him." Carnelian said. He paused for a moment. That was the first time he had ever said aloud that he was in love with Berthie. It was now out for the entire world to know. He could pretend it was a platonic love or that he was only grateful for Berthie taking care of him, but now he spoke the words. He spoke the words that had been tugging at his mind and his heart for so long now.

"I wasn't supposed to fall in love with him." Carnelian repeated slowly and quietly. Tears stung his eyes now that everything he had been thinking and feeling was finally manifesting itself in the form of words. "I love him and…and I'm pretty sure that he tolerates me at best. He used to be so terrible to me! He frightened me and I hated him, but now I love him. He still teases me and sometimes he's just downright cruel with the things he says, but he takes care of me and helps me and…and…."

Amber smiled as Carnelian drifted off. "And he wouldn't do all of that if he didn't love you, would he?"

A sarcastic laugh came from Carnelian as he shook his head and hid his face in his hands. "That damned Lucille…" he cringed at hearing that name again even though it came from his own mouth. "The bane of my existence…."

He spoke quietly, but the words didn't escape Amber's ears. She stood up and walked towards her wardrobe, opening it and quickly taking something out it. When she walked back to Carnelian she gently held his wrists and moved his hands from his face. A smile crossed her lips as she wiped a few stray tears from Carnelian's cheeks.

"This Lucille has no chance against someone as beautiful as you, Garnet. "

"Lucille is so beautiful," Carnelian said quickly, repeating everything that had been ground into his head about Lucille's appearance. "You can't even begin to comprehend how lovely this person is. I don't even remotely compare."

Amber didn't say anything as she revealed the thing she had taken from the wardrobe was a long, white ribbon. She took a hold of Carnelian's braid and tied the ribbon to the end of it to keep it from unwinding.

"You're sweet, pretty, loyal, and you seem to have a good head on your shoulders, Garnet. What's not to love?" She picked up Carnelian's nun dress, which he had folded and set on the wicker chair and handed it back to him. "Berthie is lucky to have such a fine wife."

Carnelian quickly wiped the rest of his tears away as Amber started to lead him out of the room, mostly likely so he could rest in his own room. "I'm so sorry. You were talking about your problems and I just interrupted you with mine."

"Not at all! We're two women who complain about our men. We each need time to do so!"

Carnelian let out a giggle. He knew Amber was grateful to have someone else to talk to aside from her husband and that ugly assistant, but he had no idea how desperately he needed someone else to speak to as well. He thanked her when they finally reached his room and even gave her a hug before they separated for the night.

The inside of the guest room wasn't as decorated as Amber's room, only having a dresser, a small chair, and surprisingly enough a single bed instead of two separate beds. The bed wasn't terribly large, but Carnelian figured he and Berthie were thin enough to fit on it. He would have been able to measure it better if Berthie was actually in the room.

"Where could he have possibly gone?" Carnelian whispered as he walked deeper into the room. Berthie had definitely been there; his coat was carelessly thrown onto the chair. Carnelian shook his head as he set his dress on the chair and picked up the coat, clutching it tightly.

Carnelian had never expressed his concerns about Berthie loving him to anyone, though he supposed it was because he never had anyone to talk to. It hurt him every single day to think that he was so in love and that his affection would never be returned. He sighed as he climbed into bed and covered himself with the quilt, still clutching onto Berthie's jacket, inhaling his scent and desperately wishing he were with him. It was the same thing every day: Carnelian waking up and feeling nothing but love for Berthie before remembering that Berthie loved only one man and it wasn't him. Then at night Carnelian's heart would ache as they fell asleep together, only for him to wake up the next morning and repeat it all over again.

"I'm like Prometheus." Carnelian whispered into the coat.

"Prometheus?"

Carnelian sat upright as he heard a voice in his room. Standing at the end of the bed was Berthie, waving pleasantly at his companion.

"What are you doing here?" Carnelian asked before he realized that was the wrong question. "I mean, where were you? Did you go out somewhere?"

"Why do you say you're like Prometheus?" Berthie said as he climbed into the bed next to Carnelian, ignoring his questions as he so often did. "Did your liver get eaten out?"

Carnelian fell back onto the mattress, staring at the ceiling. "It's not my liver getting eaten out; it's my heart. Every day it grows back and every day it gets ripped out again."

"It's okay! Since it grows back so you don't have to worry about dying!" Berthie said with a smile, putting his hand over Carnelian's heart.

"It's not dying I'm afraid of," Carnelian sighed. "It hurts, Berthie. I just don't like feeling the pain every day."

"You are pretty weak." Berthie couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips as Carnelian huffed and turned on his side, facing away from him. "Weaklings like you tend to get their hearts eaten out," Berthie continued. "Or even their kidneys or lungs or brains. There's really no place for people like you in this world. Well, actually there is! We were just talking about you get eaten. Your only purpose is to act as prey for the bigger animals."

"Berthie, please…." Carnelian said, trying his hardest to keep his voice from cracking.

"But even weaklings sometimes have a stronger animal to protect them. You won't get devoured while I'm around!"

Carnelian just shook his head as he curled into as small of a ball as he could. The jacket stayed clutched in his hands as if it could somehow protect him from Berthie's harsh words. He wanted to run away just like he always did, but there was no way he felt comfortable running around someone else's home. He wished Berthie wasn't always so horrible to him. The only time Berthie was nice occurred after he was mean and Carnelian couldn't get the awful things that were said about him out of his mind. It made it so he never wanted to speak to Berthie out of fear of being teased or insulted.

"And where did you get this from?"

Carnelian shivered as he felt Berthie's hand run along his side, from his shoulder to his hip and back again. He must have been talking about the nightgown.

"Amber let me borrow it," Carnelian said quietly. He didn't want to talk to Berthie at all. He just knew that somehow Berthie would find something offensive to say about his nightwear.

"It's pretty," Berthie said, planting a kiss on Carnelian's neck.

That was a shock for Carnelian to hear. He would have bet money that Berthie would have said something nasty about the nightgown, but once again Berthie took Carnelian by surprise. The man's blunt honesty often hurt Carnelian's feelings, but sometimes it helped him remember that Berthie wasn't all that awful.

"It looks more like a dress than a nightgown," Berthie continued. He lifted Carnelian's braid straight in the air and examined it. "And did the old woman do this too?"

"Her name is Amber," Carnelian quickly corrected. "And yes, she braided my hair for me." Surely, Berthie would have some snarky remark about his hair.

"It's cute!" Once again Carnelian was proved wrong. The excitement in Berthie's voice was evident as he complimented his hair. "The ribbon is nice too! I really like your hair like this, Carnelian. Your hair is always down and all over your face. I never get to see how pretty you are! If you braided it then I could see your face all the time!"

Carnelian didn't have time to react before he was turned around onto his back with Berthie straddling his waist. The jacket was roughly torn from his hands and thrown to the floor as if it were nothing. Berthie's eyes stared straight into Carnelian's, but he was focused only on the item that had been taken from him.

"Can I have it back?" he asked quietly, looking at it as if it were a memento of someone who had long since left him. "I want to hold it."

He was turned back to face the man on top of him. Berthie slowly shook his head before kissing Carnelian lightly on his lips. He slid his hands down Carnelian's arms before roughly pinning them to the bed while nipping at his neck.

"I'm right here. You don't need that jacket and you don't need to miss me when I'm always right in front of you."

"It's not that," Carnelian whispered, looking back at the jacket. He gave a small whimper as Berthie bit down hard on his collarbone, and even though it bothered him he didn't want to tell Berthie the truth. He could already hear the teases and insults in his mind. If he just kept quiet then he wouldn't get his feelings hurt, but at the same time he wouldn't get what he wanted.

"If…if I told you I don't want to do that tonight, Berthie…" he closed his eyes tightly, ready for the destructive answer he would received. "Would you still force me to do it?"

The laugh that filled his ears said it all. He should have just kept his mouth shut! He knew better! He knew better than to think Berthie could ever give him that much respect. He should have known….

Though, just when he was finally ready to break down he felt the hands pinning his arms to bed release him. He blinked a few times from shock before turning his head to look at Berthie.

"I don't have to force you to do anything!" Berthie said with a grin. "You'll come eventually! You always contradict yourself! 'Oh, Berthie, I like it! I want it!' then the next minute you're like 'No, Berthie. I don't like it. I don't want you to do it anymore.'" He mocked Carnelian by making his voice much higher than it normally was, but this was something Carnelian was used to. "I have no need to force you. You'll come running on your own if I just give you time."

Berthie was full of surprises tonight. The biggest surprise was Carnelian noticing the hurt that crossed Berthie's eyes only for a brief second as he answered his question. The answer was teasing, but Carnelian understood what Berthie was really trying to say: _'How could you think I would force you-no, rape you? Do you think so little of me? Do you think I would do anything to deliberately hurt you?'_

Suddenly Carnelian felt like the monster. He so often forgot that Berthie had feelings as well and they could be hurt just as easily as his. The man was harsh and brutal, but he was still only human and wanted to be seen as trustworthy.

"You're so wonderful for giving me the time I need, Berthie," Carnelian said while touching the side of Berthie's face. The other man just shrugged making Carnelian give him a shy smile. The fear of asking questions was still there, but it was slowly disappearing. It was in Berthie's nature to tease and make fun of him, but there was more to it, so much more.

"Will you hold me?"

Another question meant another sarcastic answer; however, it seemed Berthie was done making fun of Carnelian for the night. Perhaps he saw just how much he was hurting him or maybe he was just bored. Carnelian hoped Berthie could see that needed to lighten up sometimes, but he didn't expect a change to come anytime soon.

Yet, as Berthie remained quiet while sliding off of Carnelian and resting next to him the thought that Berthie might possibly change remained. Berthie wrapped an arm around Carnelian and drew him closer so the smaller man could rest his head on the other's chest.

"Stop talking now and just go to sleep," Berthie said while kissing the other man on top of his head.

"You too," Carnelian said with a smile and a kiss to Berthie's neck.

Carnelian gave one more glance to the jacket that was still on the floor. He snuggled as close to Berthie as he could, the jacket unneeded since Carnelian had the real thing next to him, holding him and caressing him. For the first time since he could remember Carnelian went to sleep that night not with his heart eaten out, but rather his heart being held and protected by the one he loved the most.

* * *

><p><em><strong>This chapter wasn't supposed to be stand alone but...it is. I keep rereading Berthie and Carnelian's conversation and thinking "I could do this" or "Maybe I should make it longer" or "This needs to be better" but it is what it is. I always want to make it better and I never seem to be able to do it haha. I'm so hard on myself. ^_^ <strong>_

_**But overall I'm happy with the way this chapter came out (I'm totally gonna come back and rewrite it). It's hard writing Berthie as an affectionate person, but at the same time it's impossible for him to not be affectionate with Carnelian. Even if he truly doesn't love him he'll feel a change towards him. **_

_**Now, I promise that there will only be one more "The Solider and His Nun" chapter. It wasn't supposed to be divided into three chapters at all, but after I finished this one I wanted it to be on it's own. The next chapter is the conclusion to "The Soldier and His Nun" and then I'll finally move us on to another adventure ^_^ **_


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